YouTube TV customers rejoiced last week as they finally gained authentication access into ESPN Unlimited, the all-in-one ESPN app that includes everything the network has to offer, including exclusive live programming like WWE Premium Live Events, such as the recent SummerSlam.
The access was long overdue. Disney and YouTube TV came to a renewed distribution deal last November after a protracted dispute that left Disney-owned networks dark on the pay-TV service for two weeks during the heart of football season. As part of that deal, YouTube TV subscribers were slated to receive ESPN Unlimited at no additional cost, just as ESPN had promised for all bundle subscribers in the years-long lead-up to the app’s launch.
Ultimately, it took YouTube TV subscribers over eight months until they were granted access to ESPN Unlimited. Now, YouTube TV subscribers can authenticate within the ESPN app and receive all of the content promised to them. But now, those same subscribers are still waiting for the second, arguably equally important feature to drop: ingestion.
As part of the renewed distribution agreement between Disney and YouTube TV, Disney agreed to ingest ESPN Unlimited content directly into the YouTube TV platform. This would allow a YouTube TV user to access, say, a college baseball game on ESPN+ directly within YouTube TV without any need to switch to the ESPN app.
So far, this feature has not been rolled out. But according to a recent report by Luke Bouma in Cord Cutters News, “complete integration of ESPN Unlimited content directly inside the YouTube TV interface” will be available “later this fall.”
While no exact timetable was given, that should be welcome news for YouTube TV subscribers who have waited patiently for this feature.
Platform aggregation is quickly becoming the name of the game in streaming. Recently, Peacock and YouTube struck a deal to include the NBC-owned streamer’s content inside YouTube Premium, the ad-free offering of the standard YouTube service. NBC previously struck a deal with YouTube TV to include Peacock-exclusive live sports on the relaunched NBCSN which, in practice, is similar to what ESPN Unlimited integration will accomplish for ESPN-owned content on the platform.
Piece-by-piece, companies are attempting to recreate the all-in-one convenience of the old cable bundle. ESPN’s ingestion into YouTube TV, whenever it happens, will be one of the biggest step towards that effort to date.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.